This invention relates to a circuit connection assembly for a wire harness in a vehicle, and more particularly to a circuit connection assembly for a vehicle wire harness in which auxiliary devices on a vehicle body panel can be easily and securely connected to auxiliary devices on an interior wall member.
Various vehicle body panel-side auxiliary devices, such for example as a power window opening-closing mechanism, a door mirror drive mechanism and a door lock mechanism, have heretofore been mounted on a door of an automobile. Wire harnesses, comprising many wires and connectors, are installed for electrically connecting these auxiliary devices. The wire harnesses are installed through an operation window mainly with a blind operation, and the mounting of the various auxiliary devices and the connection of the harnesses are very cumbersome. In addition, for electrical connection to the auxiliary devices, auxiliary devices, such as a switch unit, are mounted on an interior wall member such as a door trim, and it has been very cumbersome to connect the vehicle body panel-side auxiliary devices to the interior wall member-side auxiliary devices.
Therefore, there has been proposed a circuit connection assembly of an automobile door as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
The automobile door 1 comprises a door panel (vehicle body panel) 2 of metal, a panel unit 3 mounted on the door panel 2, and a door trim (interior wall member) 4 mounted on the door panel 2 to cover an interior-side face of the panel unit 3.
The panel unit 3 serves as a support structure which supports auxiliary devices on the door panel 2 such as a speaker 7, a door lock mechanism 9 and a power window opening-closing mechanism mounted within the door 1. In this illustrated example, a control circuit panel 8 for controlling the operations of the various auxiliary devices mounted on the panel unit 3 is also mounted on the panel unit 3.
This control circuit board 8 comprises a printed circuit board comprising a rigid insulating board on which necessary circuit patterns are printed, and various electronic and electrical parts, forming control circuit sections, are mounted on this printed circuit board. The control circuit board 8 is mounted on the panel unit 3, and is received in a protective casing except a connector portion 8a, connected to a switch unit (described later), so that the electronic and electrical parts, mounted on the printed circuit board, will not be damaged upon interference with neighboring objects.
The door trim 4 is the interior wall member forming the appearance of the interior of the car room. A switch-mounting opening 15 is formed in an upper face of a armrest 13 formed on the door trim 4 in a bulged manner, and the main switch unit 10 is mounted in the opening 15.
Various switches for operating the auxiliary devices mounted on the panel unit 3 are mounted on the main switch unit 10. As shown in FIG. 6, this main switch unit 10 comprises a switch casing 11 with an open bottom, and a switch board 12 through which key tops (operating keys) 12a are mounted on the switch casing 11 in such a manner that these key tops 12a are exposed to an upper face of the switch casing 11.
Elastic lock claws 11a, formed on an outer peripheral portion of the switch casing 11, are engaged with a peripheral edge 15a of the opening 15, thereby fixing the main switch unit 10 in position to the door trim 4.
The main switch unit 10, mounted in the opening 15 in the door trim 4, is electrically connected to the connector portion 8a of the control circuit board 8 on the panel unit 3 by a flat circuit member 17.
The flat circuit member 17 is a flexible wiring board comprising a flexible film on which contacts and circuit patterns are formed, and this flat circuit member 17 includes a contact section 17a on which a plurality of switch contacts are arranged, and a tongue-like connecting section 17b which is formed integrally with the contact section 17a and is connectable to the connector portion 8a of the control circuit board 8 on the panel unit 3. The connections of the respective switch contacts are switched by the switching operation of the switch board 12 effected in accordance with the operation of the key tops 12a. 
As shown in FIG. 6, the contact section 17a is fitted into and fixed to an insertion guide 20, formed in the interior of the armrest 13 of the door trim 4, through a contact section holder 19.
The contact section holder 19 includes a base plate portion 19a and a lid portion 19b between which a peripheral edge portion of the contact section 17a is held. This contact section holder 19 has positioning projections 19c for locating the contacts on the flat circuit member 17 in predetermined positions, respectively. The contact section holder 19 is fixed in position in the insertion guide 20 by positioning member (not shown). The positioning projections 19 are engaged respectively in positioning holes 11c, formed respectively in distal ends of support posts 11b depending from the switch casing 11, thus serving also to position the main switch unit 10 in a horizontal direction.
On the other hand, the connecting section 17b is inserted into a recess in a housing (not shown) mounted on the inner face of the door trim 4, and cooperates with this housing to form a connector portion. Simultaneously when the door trim 4 is mounted on the door panel 2 on which the panel unit 3 is beforehand mounted, the connector portion 8a of the control circuit board 8 is connected to the connecting section 17b. 
In the circuit connection assembly of the automobile door shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the positioning of the switch board 12 is effected by the peripheral edge 15a of the opening 15 in the armrest 13 through the switch casing 11, whereas the positioning of the contact section 17a of the flat circuit member 17 to be electrically connected to the switch board 12 is effected by the insertion guide 20, formed in the interior of the door trim 4, through the contact section holder 19.
The switch board 12 and the contact section 17a, which are to be positioned in electrical contact with each other, are positioned on the basis of the different portions of the door trim 4, respectively. The door trim 4 is a molded product of a large size, and therefore its dimensional tolerance becomes large in some cases, and for this and other reasons, there is encountered a problem that it is difficult to properly position the switch contacts of the contact section 17a with respect to the switch board 12.
Since the door trim 4 is the large molded product, it is difficult to provide such dimensional precision as to secure the proper contact pressure of the connector terminals at the portion of electrical connection between the connector portion 8a of the control circuit board 8 and the connecting section 17b. 
Therefore, the efficiency of the operation, in which the door trim 4 is mounted on the door panel 2 while securely connecting the main switch unit 10 on the door trim 4 to the auxiliary devices (including the speaker 7 and the door lock mechanism 9 mounted within the door 1) on the door panel 2, has not been high.
The control circuit board 8 for controlling the operations of the auxiliary devices is mounted on the panel unit 3 mounted on the door panel 2, and it is necessary to cover this control circuit board 8 with the protective casing except the connector portion 8a so that the electronic and electrical parts, mounted on the control circuit board 8, will not be damaged upon interference with neighboring objects. This has invited a problem that the production cost. increases.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a satisfactory circuit connection assembly for a vehicle wire harness, in which auxiliary devices on a vehicle body panel can be easily and securely connected to auxiliary devices on an interior wall member.
In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a circuit connection assembly for electrically connecting auxiliary devices mounted on a vehicle body panel and having a connector, and auxiliary devices mounted on an interior wall member attached to an inner face of the vehicle body panel, comprising:
a bracket body disposed between the vehicle body panel and the interior wall member, the bracket body integrally provided with a connector fitting portion to which the connector is to be fitted; and
a flat circuit member provided as a flexible wiring board integrally including a control circuit section for controlling the auxiliary devices mounted on the vehicle body panel, and a connecting section having a terminal to be connected with the connector, the flat circuit member mounted on the bracket body so as to contiguously overlap an outer peripheral face of the bracket and such that the connecting section is positioned on the connector fitting section.
In the above construction, the flat circuit member, connected to the auxiliary devices on the interior wall member, comprises the flexible wiring board having the control circuit section for controlling the auxiliary devices on the vehicle body panel, and therefore this flat circuit member, while suitably bent, can be contiguously mounted on the outer peripheral face of the bracket attached to the interior wall.
Further, since the connector fitting portion is formed integrally with the bracket on which the flat circuit member is mounted, and the connecting section on the flat circuit member is mounted on the connector fitting portion, the dimensional tolerance of the connector fitting portion of the bracket can be made smaller as compared with the case where it is formed on the interior wall member which is a large molded product, and it is easy to provide such dimensional precision as to secure the proper contact pressure of the connector terminals at the portion of electrical connection to the auxiliary devices on the vehicle panel body.
Still further, since the control circuit for the auxiliary devices on the vehicle panel is previously incorporated into the bracket for the auxiliary devices on the interior wall member, the reliability of the electrical connecting portion is easily secured, and besides the auxiliary devices can be securely fixed to the inner face of the interior wall member through the bracket.
Preferably, the auxiliary devices mounted on the interior wall member includes a switch unit having a switch board on which a plurality of switches are arranged. The flat circuit member includes a switch contact section on which the switches of the switch board are to be contacted. The bracket body includes a horizontal portion on which the switch contact section of the flat circuit member is contiguously mounted.
In this case, the switch board for the auxiliary devices and the switch contact section of the flat circuit member, which must be positioned relative to each other in a good electrical-contact condition, are mounted on the switch contact holder of the single bracket in a superposed manner, and therefore the positioning references of the two coincide with each other, and the precision of positioning of the two relative to each other can be made high.
Preferably, the bracket body includes a vertical portion extended from one end of the horizontal portion, on which the control circuit section of the flat circuit member is contiguously mounted. The bracket body is attached to the interior wall member such that the control circuit is sandwiched between the vertical portion and the interior wall member. In this case, the control circuit section is covered and protected by the interior wall member and the bracket, and therefore requires no protective casing for exclusive use, and the number of the component parts, as well as the production cost, can be reduced.
Preferably, the connector fitting portion of the bracket includes a fixation member for fixing the connecting section of the flat circuit member thereon.
In this case, the connecting section is securely fixed on the bracket, and therefore before the auxiliary devices are mounted on the interior wall member, the connecting section will not hang down to hinder the assembling operation, and will not be damaged, and therefore the efficiency of the assembling operation at the time of fixing the auxiliary devices to the interior wall member is enhanced.
Preferably, the vehicle panel is a vehicle door panel, and the interior wall member is a vehicle door trim provided with an armrest portion on which the switch unit is mounted.